EKG: What is it? Easily explained
An EKG can possibly save your life - it is interesting to know what it is. It is not without reason that the EKG device is part of the standard equipment of every ambulance and many medical practices are equipped with the medical device.
EKG - that is hidden behind the three letters
The medical term electrocardiography is hidden behind the abbreviation EKG. The EKG enables the physician to make a first diagnosis very quickly. And in an area in which every second can decide about life or death.
- The doctor uses an EKG to measure the heart's work cycle. A heart attack can be diagnosed quickly using the examination method, so that the appropriate medical measures can be initiated immediately.
- In addition to an acute heart attack, the EKG shows the cardiologist numerous other heart diseases. These include cardiac arrhythmias as well as diseases of the coronary arteries, thickening of the heart wall and inflammation of the heart muscle.
- The foundation stone for this vital method of investigation was laid in 1843 by Carlo Matteucci. The approach was significantly further developed almost 40 years later by the physiologist Augustus Waller. Initially, the test method was only tested on animals. It was only in 1900 that scientists like Willem Einthoven, Frank Wilson and Emanuel Goldberger refined the EKG to such an extent that it slowly found its way into everyday clinical practice in human medicine.
Heart action - this is how it is measured
Matteucci was inspired by his functioning of the heart well over 100 years ago. The heart produces light electronic impulses, which then trigger the heartbeat.
- This heart cycle can be measured using electrodes. The electrodes are placed on the patient's bare torso.
- The electrodes show the data of the heart action in the form of curves.
- The cardiologist then uses these records to make an initial diagnosis of cardiac health.
- A distinction is made in the examination between a so-called resting ECG and a stress ECG.
In order to maintain the health of the heart for as long as possible, it is not wrong to know the functioning of the heart a little more precisely. We show all important information in the next article.